Improvement in cultivators



. 2 SheetsSheet 1. J. M. LUDLOW & S. 0. PRUITT. Cultivator.

No. 198,204. Patented Dec. 18,187?

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Cultivator.

No.198,204. Patented Dec. 18,1877

WITNESSES fiatwe es /3. 261'. 5.

UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. LUDLOW AND SANFORD G. PRUITT, OF HALL, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CULTIVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 198,204, dated December18, 1877 application filed September 17, 1877.

To all whom it may concern p Be it known that we, JOHN M. LUDLow andSANFORD O. Pnrnrr, of the town of Hall, county of Morgan, and State ofIndiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCultivators, of which the following is a specification: v

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, which are made a parthereof, and on which similar letters of reference indicate similarparts. I

Figure l is a top or plan view of our invention. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical section thereof, looking to the left from a pointshown by the dotted line a; a: and Fig. 3 is a transverse verticalsection thereof, looking to the left from the dotted line z z.

Those portions of the drawings marked A are the cultivator wheels; B,the spindles thereto; G, devices in which the spindles are fastened, andwhich are so arranged that the spindles are easily moved upward or down=ward therein, as it is desired to have the plows 0 work at a greater orless depth, and which have the bolts 0 c, by which said spindles arefastened after being placed in position. Those marked D, E, F, and G arecomponent parts of the arch Q, and are so constructed that the said archcan be readily varied, both in width and height, at pleasure.

H H are short shafts connecting the devices 0 O and the arch Q, and towhich the plowbeams, draft-bars, and regulating-levers are attached.

I I are the plow-beams; J J, the handles thereto M, pivots, and j jstraps connecting the beams and handles together, in such a manner thatthe course of the plows can be changed at will. The pivots'iiare,preferably, directly above the points of the plows, as this arrangementrenders the changing of the course of the plows easier ofaccomplishment.

K K are regulating-levers or connecting-rods between the handles J J andthe shafts H H, and are so arranged that the movement of the handles inchanging the course of the plows shall produce a corresponding change inthe course of the wheels.

L L are the draft-bars, by which the cultivator is drawn, and which haveseveral holes in the bar I, to serve as points of attachment, thusallowing for variations in the strength of the animals or in the widthof the rows. They are connected to the shafts H H, both directly and bymeans of the braces M M, so that they shall have the requisite amount oflateral strength.

N N are supporting-bars attached to the draft-bars L L, and providedwith hooks n, which are designed to engage with the small bar at in theplow-beam I, and thus prevent the plows from touching the ground whiledriving to or from the place where the work is to be performed. 7

O O are the plows, which are made after the ordinary manner ofshovel-plows, except that they have a cutter, o, and a mold-board, 0.They are attached to the shafts H H by means of the plow-beams I I, andin such a manner that no lateral movement can take place except what isallowed by the changes in the course of the wheels; and the operator isthus relieved of the labor of continually holding the plows in place, asis the case when the plow-beams are hinged laterally.

The principal object of our invention is to produce a cultivator whichcan be so varied as to be used with equal facility and to equaladvantage under all the circumstances of varying'and crooked rows andvarying heights of the corn. This is accomplished by con structing thearch of several pieces, and having them so arranged that by means of thepivots, slots, and bolts shown they can be made the subject of numerousvariations, which enables the operator to set the arch to the exact sizenecessary, and with but little loss of time.

We have also made various 'other improvements in the construction of ourcultivator, which will be apparent on examination of our specificationand drawings.

The construction and operation of the arch Q;are substantially asfollows: The parts D D and E E are rigidly attached to the shafts H atthe bottom. Between these parts is the part F, which is pivoted to themat d and e, and which is widened at the bottom end, where it has theslot f, through which runs the bolt d. By means of these slots and boltsthe shafts H H are kept in line and the wheels upright, notwithstandingthe variations in the arch. The various holes in these parts will beeasily understood as the points to which the bolts are changed whenraising or lowering the arch. At the top, and connecting the two sidesof the arch, is the part G, which is provided with a bolt at each end.At one end of this device, in the part F, is a slot, f, which allows thefree play of the bolt 9 when loosened, and permits the arch to bewidened at pleasure,

but when tightened keeps it perfectly firm and rigid.

The plows of our cultivator are themselves of a peculiar construction,being at once a shovel and a mold-board plow, and having a cutter on theinner edge. We believe this construction to have the advantage ofworking the ground more thoroughly and evenly than any other which doesnot pile the earth too high about the corn.

The construction of the joint by which we vary the course of the wheelsand plows is simple and practical, consisting of a widened end to theplow-beam I, connected tothe handle J by the pivot i and the strap j,and aided by the lever K, connecting the handles J and the shaft H. Thislever K is constructed of two parts, connected by the joint k. Theforward end of this lever is firmly attached to the device G, and can beextended a suflicient distance to the front to take the place of thedraftbars L, and, when so used, the operator can, by reining theanimals, throw on them the labor of changing the course of the wheelsand plows, and thus relieve himself of a very considerable task.

Having thus fully described our invention,

what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the parts D D, E E, F F, and G, forming the archto a cultivator, and constructed and operated substantially asspecified.

2. The combination of the shaft H, the device G, constructed of twoparts, as shown, and having two slots, in which the bolts 0 c areoperated, the bolts 00, and the spindle B, constructed and operatedsubstantially as herein shown and described, and for the purposespecified.

3. The combination of beam I, pivot i, haudle J, and the plow-standard,forming a variable joint, substantially as specified.

4. The combination ofhandles J, jointed lever K, and shaft H,substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purposespecified.

5. The shovel-plow O, constructed as shown, having a mold-board and acutter, said cutter being separated from said mold-board for the greaterpart of its length, and arranged substantially as specified.

6. The combination of the forward end of the lever K with the device 0,the shaft H, and draft-bars L M, substantially as herein shown anddescribed, and for the purpose herein specified.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals, atIndianapolis, Indiana, this 12th day of September A. D. 1877.

JOHN M. minnow. n s.] SANFORD O. PRUITT. [L. s.] In presence of C.BRADFORD, O. E. PRUITT.

